‘Keep the fracking ban’ says UNISON

UNISON Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government not to lift the current moratorium on fracking.

The trade union is making the call in its response to: ‘Talking Fracking - Scottish Government consultation on unconventional oil and gas’.

UNISON says there is considerable doubt that gas from fracking is economically viable. Or that the number of jobs created would be as high as some claim.

UNISON also believes we should not compromise Scotland’s climate change targets, or the UK’s broader commitment to limiting global climate change.

It calls on the Scottish Government to lead the world in moving to clean renewable power, and not aiming to extract ever more inaccessible fossil fuels. The risk is that shale gas doesn’t just replace imported gas – it replaces renewables.

Dave Watson, head of UNISON public affairs said, “The arguments for and against fracking will continue and the research on safety and economic benefit is considerably short of being conclusive. The key issue is do we want a Scotland that focuses on clean energy, or return to dirty fossil fuels? On those grounds alone, there remains a strong case to ban fracking.

Scotland’s industrial heritage is a lesson for us all. We have communities across Scotland who have been blighted by fossil fuel industries - as anyone suffering from an industrial diseases understands all too well. Fracking in the wide open spaces of the USA has highlighted significant safety and health concerns. In Scotland fracking will take place under people’s homes in densely populated areas.

A ban also helps to prevent Scotland being locked into a fossil fuel future and act as an incentive to those wishing to invest in renewables. Scotland’s economic future should be associated with clean, green industries. And we should make the fastest possible transition to clean, sustainable, renewable energy.”